Section 4 - Muscles and Movements
Hip Adductors
Figure 1. Hip Adductors
The hip adductors are a group of four muscles located in the internal femoral region on both sides of the body. Their names are:
1) Adductor Longus
2) Adductor Brevis
3) Adductor Magnus
4) Gracilis
These muscles are shown in figure 1 above.
The hip adductors main function is to adduct or bring your legs towards the midline of the body as well as to cross one leg over the other. This occurs during any athletic movement requiring you to move from side to side such as playing the infield in baseball, defense in basketball and football, and ice skating. They are also used in activities such as horseback riding where inward pressure by your thighs is required to maintain a firm and stable riding posture.This is illustrated in Figures 2a and 2b.
